NAYPYIDAW, July 11 — After US President Donald Trump on Monday announced a fresh round of tariffs on 14 countries, with the highest rate of 40 per cent imposed on Myanmar, Myanmar's ruling military general has asked Trump for a reduction on the rate on his country's exports.
In a response to a letter from Trump notifying Myanmar of the tariff, Min Aung Hlaing proposed a reduced rate of 10 per cent to 20 per cent, with his country slashing its levy on US imports to a range of zero to 10 per cent, it said.
He also said his country is ready to send a negotiation team to Washington if needed, state media reported today.
"The senior general acknowledged the president's strong leadership in guiding his country towards national prosperity with the spirit of a true patriot," state media said in a report.
Meanwhile, in WASHINGTON yesterday, Trump also said the US would impose a 35 per cent tariff on imports from Canada. In a letter released on his social media platform, Trump told Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney the new rate would go into effect on August 1 and would go up if Canada retaliated.
The 35 per cent tariff is an increase from the current 25 per cent rate that Trump had assigned to Canada and is a blow to Carney, who was seeking to agree a trade pact with Washington.
An exclusion for goods covered by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) on trade was expected to stay in place, and 10 per cent tariffs on energy and fertiliser were also not set to change, though Trump had not made a final decision on those issues, an administration official said.
Trump complained in his letter about what he referred to as the flow of fentanyl from Canada.
"If Canada works with me to stop the flow of Fentanyl, we will, perhaps, consider an adjustment to this letter," Trump wrote.
Canadian officials say a miniscule amount of fentanyl originates from Canada but they have taken measures to strengthen the border.
Carney's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
— Reuters
